Memories of Death
by Jenna Caine
Summary: ONESHOT! Mist Alchemist Major Mizuki Nighthawk finds Flame Alchemist Roy Mustang about to commit suicide, and stops him. She ends up taking him home because he's dealing with too much guilt over the Ishbal Rebellion. Includes a couple memories. Roy/OC


Mizuki walked into the office, preoccupied with torturous thoughts of Ishbal. They had been dealing with a huge string of attacks by Scar again lately, and trying to fight the Ishbalan always stirred up memories. Memories the Major would much rather forget, preferably for good.

Striding down the aisle of lower ranking officers' desks towards the door to her private office, she didn't look up until she heard a rustle somewhere ahead of her. Her head instantly shot up, scanning her surroundings. Her emerald eyes narrowed slightly when she saw that Roy's door was slightly open. She knew he always made sure to lock it, so something was wrong. Drawing her pistol from its holster and slowly, silently, clicking off the safety, she crept silently towards the door, then flattened herself against the wall. She was just about to peer through the door when she heard a distinctive _click_, one she knew well. It was the sound of the safety being taken off on a pistol. She stiffened, then heard labored breathing.

Mizuki twitched slightly, taking a guess. Taking a deep breath, she darted through the door to see Roy seated behind his desk, holding a pistol to his head with an anguished expression on his face. Mizuki's eyes widened and she swore silently, dropping her own pistol and rushing forward as Roy's finger tightened on the trigger. Stretching out her automail arm, she grabbed the muzzle of the gun, wrenching it away from Roy's head as his finger pulled the trigger. The shot, of course, went wide, punching a round hole in one of the walls. Choking back what sounded like a sob, Mizuki managed to yank the gun out of the Lieutenant Colonel's hand. Flinging it away, she sank to her knees in front of Roy, holding his hands in hers.

"…Roy… It's the memories, isn't it?" she whispered softly, her eyes shimmering. Roy nodded numbly, staring down into Mizuki's face.

"I… I can't take it anymore…" he mumbled, and Mizuki released his right hand. Raising her left hand to her face, she gripped a couple fingers of her glove in her teeth, yanking it off. Discarding the glove, she took his right hand in her bare left hand, tugging it up to her cheek. Pressing his hand against her cheek, she smiled softly up at him.

"Yes, you can, Roy. You have me, remember? You don't have to suffer these memories alone—I was there, too. I have horrible memories, just like you do. But there's one other thing we both have, Roy…"

His left hand tightened around her right hand, and his right clutched softly at her cheek. "W-what…?" he asked, the numbness slowly beginning to fade.

"Each other… Love," Mizuki answered quietly. "We can help each other through this, Roy."

He looked at her, his lips trembling slightly, then his face slowly began to crumple, and he slid out of his chair, kneeling in front of her. Tugging on their joined hands, he pulled her against him, then wrapped his left arm around her upper back, his right hand sliding to the back of her head, holding her tightly and burying his face in her neck. Mizuki wrapped her arms around him, then blinked, startled, when she felt his shoulders quivering. He… he was _crying_. She sighed and held him, one hand absently rubbing his back comfortingly.

"It's okay. I've got you, I'm here… It's going to be okay…" she whispered, turning her head slightly to bury her face in his unruly black hair. Her eyes closed, a single tear tracing a wet path down her cheek to disappear into his hair as she fought her own memories. She remembered holding him in a similar way, during the Ishbalan Rebellion…

"Mustang? You wanted to see me?" Mizuki asked, wiping the Ishbal dust from her face, momentarily forgetting how dusty her entire uniform was. Her emerald eyes, currently showing respect towards her fellow Major, were already haunted. She had already seen so much death…

_Roy turned to look at her. "Yes, I did. Nighthawk, come here…" he muttered, beckoning her closer._

"_What is it?" She stepped closer, then gasped quietly when he grabbed her, hugging her tightly and pressing his face against the side of her neck. "M-mustang! W-what the hell?" she yelped, unsure of what to do. Roy's shoulders shook, and she heard a choked sob. "So many… innocent people… I've killed so many…" he choked out, and Mizuki bowed her head. Against her better judgement, her arms rose to encircle his body, holding him gently. Burying her face in his hair, she cried, too._

"_So have I, Mustang… So have I…" she whispered brokenly as they held each other and cried…_

"I hate seeing you like this, Roy… You're usually so self-assured, so confident… Seeing you so… so lost… hurts…" she murmured when his harsh sobbing had died down. "Come on. We should go home… I'll drive you home, alright?"

He clutched her tighter, holding her body against his. "N-no… I don't trust myself alone right now… Please… stay with me, Mizuki," he said quietly, and Mizuki's heart almost broke. He sounded so… young, so scared…

She smiled softly, beginning to pull them both to their feet. "Of course, Roy… Of course I'll stay with you…" she assured him as the two of them slowly made their way out to Roy's car.

--

Mizuki drove with one hand on the wheel. Her right hand was still being clutched by Roy, but she didn't mind at all. They drove in silence, only Roy's tight grip on her hand saying how upset he still was.

--

Once they got to Roy's house, Mizuki led him inside and up to his bedroom. When they got there, she gently pulled his military jacket off his body and hung it on the back of a chair. Once she turned away, shrugging off her own jacket, Roy peeled off his pants and sat on the edge of his bed in just his shirt and shorts, still trembling a little. Mizuki left him alone for a few moments after digging in one of his drawers. She knew he had one of her oversized T-shirts and a pair of her shorts, for when she would come over, so she ducked into the bathroom and quickly changed. Returning to the bedroom, she saw Roy curled in the fetal position on his bed, clutching a pillow to his chest, and she sighed. Crawling onto the bed beside him, she gently straightened his body and held him close, cradling him tenderly.

Shivering slightly, he rolled over so his face was against her stomach and slid his arms around her waist. "Mmm… Mizuki, I love the way you smell…" he mumbled quietly as he began to doze off, finally relaxing. Mizuki smiled as she rested her left hand on his chest, her right gently stroking his hair.

Mizuki lay wide awake in her bedroll, staring up at the canvas roof of the tent. She couldn't sleep; every time she closed her eyes, she saw the faces of all the Ishbalans she had killed so far, extending in a long line to either side.

_She heard footsteps, and reached surreptitiously for her pistol, her muscles coiled in readiness._

"…_Nighthawk? Are you awake?" a man whispered outside her tent flap. "Mustang? What… what are you doing here?" she responded, easily recognizing Mustang's voice. "May I come in?"_

"_Er… Of course," she said, releasing her pistol and relaxing her muscles once more. Roy pushed the tent flap aside and ducked into the tent, letting the flap fall closed behind him. Mizuki had already sat up, her lower body shrouded in her blanket, her red hair, a little longer than shoulder-length, tumbling messily down her back. Roy sat at the foot of the blanket, rubbing his face. "Can't sleep, Nighthawk?" he mumbled, and the redhead shook her head. "No… Too many faces…" she whispered, shivering. Roy's black eyes met her green ones, which were every bit as haunted as his own, and he smiled tiredly, humorlessly. "I know the feeling, Nighthawk. I definitely know the feeling…" He made a pathetic attempt at hiding an enormous yawn, then started to lean towards her. Mizuki watched him somewhat warily, confused, as he fell forward, his head landing softly in her lap. __Then__ she squeaked. "M-mustang?" Her voice shook, and he didn't answer._

_Mizuki sighed and sweatdropped when she realized Roy was fast asleep, sprawled out on top of her bedroll, his head pillowed on her blanket-covered lap. Shaking her head, she carefully laid back, making sure not to disturb the sleeping man. It wasn't like she could __do__ anything about it…_

_It wasn't long before she, too, had fallen asleep. It seemed that all she had needed was the comfort of knowing someone she could trust was nearby…_

Soon, Roy's deep, steady breathing told Mizuki he was asleep, and, returning her mind to the present, she chuckled softly. Raising her left hand, she pulled a thin silver chain from beneath her shirt. Dangling from the chain was a beautiful silver heart, outlined in mother-of-pearl, with a lovely fire opal, her birthstone, hanging at either side. Pressing gently on one edge of the heart, she popped the locket open and gazed inside. On one side was a small picture of her and Roy, and on the other side was a tiny clasp, holding two small snippets of hair: one black and one red. It had been a birthday present from Roy, and on the front it read, "Love creates survivors." She snapped the locket shut with a soft _click_ and smiled sleepily down at the oblivious Roy. Kissing her fingers, she then pressed them gently against his soft lips, whispering, "Good night, Roy. I love you."

With that, she took a pillow from the head of the bed, put it behind her head, and leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes and quickly falling asleep.

**End**

**Yeah, this was just a sweet thing that came into my head when I saw a screenshot of Roy trying to commit suicide because of his guilt over what happened in the Ishbal Rebellion... And this is what happened...**


End file.
